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Corrections officer shot by inmate dies

January 29, 2006|By Items compiled from Tribune news services.

HAGERSTOWN, MARYLAND — A corrections officer shot in the face by a hospitalized inmate has died of his injuries, officials said Saturday, and union leaders are demanding a review of the department's staffing policies.

Jeffery Alan Wroten, 44, was the only officer guarding inmate Brandon Morris at Washington County Hospital early Thursday when he was shot.

Morris grabbed the officer's gun and during a struggle for control fired into Wroten's face, said corrections commissioner Frank Sizer Jr.

The 20-year-old inmate escaped and forced a taxi driver at gunpoint to drive north until the cab crashed. Morris escaped on foot but was quickly captured.

The shooting has prompted corrections officers unions to demand a review of security policies for hospitalized inmates, including a rule that just one officer stand guard instead of two.